Residents of Pangman and surrounding communities are hoping to convince the Sun Country Health Region (SCHR) not to scale back service at the Pangman Health Centre when they meet with representatives of the region tonight, Oct. 8.

The meeting will be held at the Pangman Recreation Centre, starting at 7:30 p.m. It is being put on by the Village of Pangman and RM of Norton No. 69, but is expected to draw a large number of local residents, as well as interested parties from Ogema, Ceylon and Milestone.

The focus of this meeting is a reduction of hours of service at the Pangman Health Centre. Officials with Sun Country were unavailable for comment on Tuesday, but Chuck Jacques, reeve of the RM of Norton, said they have been informed by Sun Country that the centre will be closed on weekends as of Saturday, Nov. 1.

Hours will be reduced during weekdays as well.

"This is not servicing the people," said Jacques, adding they are facing a "deterioration" of health services in Pangman.

"It's got to the point where, if Sun Country Health Region can't do anything, maybe our community has to start doing something for ourselves," he said.

Jacques pointed out Ogema's turnaround of economic development as an example of why health services should not be reduced further.

"You cannot have turnaround of economic development in the area when you have deterioration of health services."

Jacques said they hope to convince the health region not to reduce hours at the Pangman Health Centre at tonight's meeting. To that end, officials from the Sun Country Health Region have been invited to the meeting.

Organizers are hoping to have as many people attend as possible. To that end, the RM sent out a flyer last week to mailboxes in Pangman and surrounding communities, informing them of the meeting and their opposition to the reduction in hours.

Local resident Dave Sheppard was one of those concerned over the future of the clinic, which he has been using recently to have dressings changed on his foot.

"It has a place here. I wish they'd leave it alone," he said.

Sheppard, who was once chair of the Pangman Union Hospital board, is also concerned about the lack of a resident doctor. Currently, a doctor comes to Pangman two days each week from Bengough.

When the last doctor left Pangman, Sheppard said he contacted other doctors about coming to the community and apparently had one lined up. However, he said the Sun Country board declined on that proposal.

"They don't seem to think they need a doctor here," he said.

Pangman Health Centre is profiled on the Sun Country Health Region website as providing the following services: emergency outpatient care, diagnostic services, home care services, ambulance services, public and mental health, diabetic education, dietitian services, rehabilitation on a visitor basis and 12-hour observation and assessment. The community-run Deep South Personal Care Home is attached to the health care centre.

Pangman is the second health centre to reduce services in the local health region recently; the other is Fillmore, who had to close their emergency department because they lacked a resident doctor. Sun Country has said they are actively recruiting a physician to provide services to Fillmore. Their facility has been without a full-time doctor since Sept. 12.